Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin sentenced to life for fraud; ex-wife allegedly moved billions overseas

Xu Jiayin, the founder of China's property giant Evergrande Group, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for fraud, with his political rights permanently revoked and all personal assets confiscated. His illegal gains will be recovered, and any shortfall will be compensated. The court also ordered the confiscation of his illegal income and imposed a fine of 8.82 billion yuan (approximately NT$41.5 billion) on him, while Evergrande Real Estate was fined 7 billion yuan (approximately NT$33.2 billion).

Adding a dramatic twist to the unfolding scandal, Xu's ex-wife, Ding Yumei, reportedly divorced him in 2023 and transferred at least 50 billion yuan (approximately NT$237 billion) overseas before the fraud case came to light. Known as the "world's strongest ex-wife," she is now living a life of leisure in a heavily guarded mansion in London, having allegedly purchased numerous luxury properties and diversified her assets across different banks.

Xu's two sons, Xu Zhijian and Xu Tenghe, also received prison sentences for charges including illegal public deposit-taking. The Evergrande fraud case has resulted in losses totaling hundreds of billions of yuan for Chinese banks, downstream manufacturers, and homebuyers. Despite the massive scale of the fraud, only Xu's existing assets worth billions of yuan have been confiscated so far.

Ding Yumei, who allegedly colluded with Xu, has made no move to return to China to aid her former husband and sons. Her actions highlight a stark contrast between her current freedom and the severe legal consequences faced by Xu Jiayin and their children, leaving them to serve their sentences in China.